STOCKTON, Calif. — Junior setter Kirsten Mead played her first match for Santa Clara volleyball in the team's last 15 contests Thursday night, but the Broncos fell to the Tigers at the Alex G. Spanos Center. Pacific won the West Coast Conference tilt in three sets: 25-15, 25-23, 25-21.

The Broncos struggled to get their offense in gear throughout the evening. They hit .118 — the second lowest hitting percentage of the year — and committed a season-high 25 attack errors.

Mead, who suffered an ankle injury in the first week of September, led the Broncos (12-9, 3-6 WCC) with 16 assists and Callie Jones added 15 assists. Hailey Lindberg hit .556 with 10 kills and Nikki Hess topped the Broncos with 10 digs. Lexi Elman had a match-high 11 kills for the Tigers (12-9, 6-3 WCC) and Katrin Gotterba led all players with 15 digs.

Pacific never trailed in the first two sets. Midway through the first frame, the Tigers used a 6-1 run — spurred by two kills from Andie Shelton — to take an 18-11 lead. They posted a single-set high .257 hitting percentage in the opening stanza while the Broncos hit .071 with only seven kills.

Late in the second set, Santa Clara cut into a 22-18 Pacific lead by winning the next four points to knot up the score. Hess had a hand in all four points during the stretch with a kill, an assist, and back-to-back aces that tied the set. Following a timeout, the Tigers won three of the next four points to take a two-set lead into the break.

The Broncos took their first lead of the night on a Pacific attack error to start off the third set. Later in the frame, Santa Clara overturned a 9-5 deficit with an 8-1 run, including three kills from Michelle Gajdka. Trailing 20-19, the Tigers took six of the final seven points to complete the sweep. 

Santa Clara plays a Bay Area road match at Saint Mary's Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. The Gaels swept San Francisco Thursday night.

MATCH NOTES: Madison Dutra matched a career-high effort with four kills … Michelle Gajdka set a new career high with four kills … Hailey Lindberg hit .444 or better for the sixth time this season … the Broncos and Tigers are an even 4-4 since Pacific rejoined the WCC in 2013.